Built For God To best understand how God has built us and what He has built us for, we must understand that the question itself is a vitally important one. Christ said this in Luke 14:25-27: If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. What does christ mean by this? We’re supposed to hate those around us? No, Christ is using hyperbole here to make an extreme and very important point. If we want to truly follow God, then we must work toward prioritizing God as the first priority in our life. The relationship with Christ must be the most important, therefore the place we spend our time, energy and focus. All else must come behind it. Yes, even the god things like family, country, and even the priority of our own life. He also says this: “whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Even unto death are we to follow if we are to be called a true follower of God. Many of us say we are Christian, but do we follow with the devotion that God desires us to? So in order to answer the question What Does it Mean to Be Built By God?, we have to understand three important truths: We first must understand WHO built us. Once we understand who built us, then we must understand WHY we were built. If we understand who built us and why, then it is time to tackle the specific nature of our place in God’s universe. If we believe we are a cosmic accident, there is no reason to continue. So first, how de we know that we aren’t a cosmic accident? THE HUMAN PERCEPTION Science believes that the universe began as a tiny, contained point of energy that suddenly expanded, in mere seconds, into the universe as we know it. This, of course, is known as the Big Bang Theory. Although scientists consider this the likely beginning of the universe, scientists can’t account for the tiny, contained point of energy that started it all. From this sudden burst of matter came life. Science believes after the earth cooled down and organic molecules formed under a blanket of hydrogen. The linking of different molecules formed RNA, a building block of life. This inherited RNA became DNA. All living creatures inherited DNA from a common ancestor 3.5 billion years ago. It may surprise you to know that these theories are relatively young. The RNA world view theory evolved in the1980s. The Big Bang Theory is slightly older, originating in the 1930s while Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the oldest of all three, came into existence in 1859. At this writing, the oldest theory of how we evolved into the complex humans of today is only 163 years old. All of this sounds plausible, but can science be wrong? Can there be another explanation? Does science have a track record of being wrong? Let’s look at a few theories that didn’t get it right: The earth-centered universe theory was a staple of science for 1100 years. The theory of four humors (the human body is composed of four “sections” -black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm- and dependent on the blood drawn from parts of the body, healing would occur. This theory about how the body worked was in practice as high-science for 2000 years. The four elements- earth, wind, fire and water - were thought to be the only elemental forces in the world for 1400 years. The Miasma Theory- The theory that the air itself carried disease was a widespread theory for 2000 years. Science is a way for us to empirically measure the things around us to draw a truth from. Scientific definition is this: the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. This is a long-winded way of saying that through experiment and observation, we can make certain inferences about the world around us. Science is a valuable tool to understand the natural world around us. In no way should it be discounted or denied. Science has brought us many valuable conveniences in our life. It helps us to live longer and better. But we must remember three things about science: It is a way to measure the physical world only, not the spiritual world. It is an evolving medium. When more is discovered, scientific opinion changes. It is always to be ordered, in priority, to our relationship with Jesus. Science is a human (temporal) way to explain our world. CAN THERE BE ANOTHER EXPLANATION? To understand the spiritual explanation, we must go to a number of different biblical books to get a picture of creation and who God is. Here we will conduct our own little experiment about bible authenticity. Ppart 1: THE CREATOR Genesis 1:1-2 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. So according to scripture, God created the heavens and the earth. He created it all. But can we trust the word? Who even wrote Genesis? Genesis was written by Moses. But is Moses reliable? He obviously wasn’t there, so we are getting what the bible would call an “inspired” word, or writing. So how do we check Moses’ reliability? Exodus 33:7-11 7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Moses and God had a special, intimate relationship. It began shortly after Moses was born, when we saw the way God provided for him through the Egyptian palace. We see it more profoundly at the burning bush where God recruits a reluctant Moses, helps him by bringing Aaron to his side, and prepares him in Midian for forty years. By the time Moses is 80 he’s ready to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God prepared Moses for his leading. Throughout the time in the desert, God and Moses have a deep relationship. There are arguments and pleading and repentance and judgment. And through it all, this close relationship, a face-to-face relationship, is maintained. But if we are to look a little deeper, we can ask a very serious question: who wrote Exodus. Well, it was Moses. Moses penned the first five books of the bible in that hot and conflicting desert where he met with God regularly. In true scientific tradition, we can say that there is evidence that Moses can be trusted, but we can’t verify it through his own word so we must forge on to Matthew 17:3: After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. In Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration (also recorded in Mark and Luke), Moses joins Jesus and Elijah in the spot where Jesus reveals His divinity. This gives us a verification that is stronger than Moses’ own inspired word. Moses has a part in Jesus’ divinity. But is Matthew a reliable source? Well, we can verify it through John 20: 19-25: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John reports that the risen Jesus appeared to the apostles. Matthew, an apostle is in the group that Jesus has come to. How do we know that? Because the only one missing is Thomas. John, an apostle who wrote his own gospel, plus three other books that bear his name and the Book of Revelation, is a very trusted source. But we can also note something that helps us to verify outside the bible regarding Matthew. His death is recorded in extra-biblical texts as happening in Ethiopia. He preached the gospel there and called the king of Ethiopia out on his behavior, which led to his martyrdom. This is important, because after Jesus appeared to the disciples, it spurred each one of them onto spreading the word with passion, knowing it would end in their gruesome deaths. This isn’t the mark of a man who cannot entrusted with the word of God. So we can say that Moses’ word, inspired by God, is trustworthy. Genesis 1:26-31 says this: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. So God creates man with several objective: To Multiply To rule humanity To rule animal life It isn’t a bad gig. Adam and Eve’s objectives are to procreate and rule over all, subdue the world, call it their own. Genesis 2:15-17 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Next, we see that God gave man a job to do. His job was to tend to the garden. To care for it. For all the good things God gave them, there is one caveat: they can’t eat from the tree in the center. God gave them a boundary/ A boundary is a line that should not be crossed. Crossing that boundary will result in sin, which is rebellion against God. The question becomes this: is God not fair any more? Out freedoms always come with boundaries. To illustrate this, think of when you drive somewhere. Although this can be a very freeing experience, it is also marked with many boundaries: stop signs, rules of the road, speed limits, etc. The freedom of driving is good, but it still has its limits. In the context of God’s law, we struggle with understanding that God’s boundaries are not in relation to God being mean, but is in relation to God’s mercy. We sometimes ask the question, if God is merciful and just, then why am I not getting what I want? To answer this question, we need to understand who God is. Acts 17:31 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” God is Just Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. God is Loving John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. God is Truthful 1 John 1:5 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all God is Holy Romans 9:15 “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” God is Merciful Psalm 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; God is a Judge Psalm 130:4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. God Forgives These bible verses tell us about God’s character. If you examine this non-comprehensive list, you’ll see that God’s character is not marked by anger or punishment. But God is a judge. One of the elements of God’s character is that He is a fair judge. If God judges fairly, the he will judge on our motives, not necessarily our actions. If we steal a bottle of shampoo from a store and are caught and go in front of a judge, the judge will look at the crime committed, weigh the punishment and finally, our level of regret. This produces a judgment commiserate with the crime. We won’t get life in prison for the stolen shampoo. This is the way a fair judge sees a case. 2 Peter 2:9 says this: if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. After a long dissertation on how God has saved Israel countless times, Peter reminds us that God knows how to judge the righteous and unrighteous. God knows what He is doing, and although we can’t always see it, we have to have the faith to know that He knows how to both take care of us and address the unrighteous at the time of their judgment. You see, God’s boundaries help us to understand God’s heart. They help us to understand what God values. When we cross a boundary and God allows adversity into our life because of it, it isn’t a moment to run away from God but to connect with Him. The boundaries help us to learn how to navigate in this world, but they also help us to connect to God once we have crashed through one. Our fight is always a fight against our own selfishness. When we become selfish and self-absorbed, it’s like opening a door to satan’s further influence. Genesis 3:1-9 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” God created a paradise of communion for humanity. But Satan shows up, willing to counteract God’s word. When Adam and Eve stepped over the boundary, they were ripe for punishment. This resulted in Original Sin for us all, but it is also to story of rebellion sewn into our hearts. Genesis wasn’t only written for us but for the Israelites. Remember, Moses wrote this book while in the desert, before a death that would not allow him into the Promised Land. One of the purposes of Genesis is to build a simplified narrative to the Israelites about the story of creation, sin and restoration. The Israelites, when rescued, had been under Egyptian rule for 400 years, longer than America has been in existence! They were surrounded by the Egyptian gods and their customs for many generations. They didn’t understand who the real God was. So they needed a way to understand God as they trained both physically and spiritually in the desert. They had to understand the sin that was built in them and the free will choice they carried. FREE WILL is the opportunity for us to connect with God or reject Him. Because the motive for choosing God is more important than blindly following. If God didn’t allow the choice for us to follow, then how could we love Him? The great denominator is love. 1 John 4:16-20 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. This is a relationship; the eternal mindset. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. If we understand God’s heart, then we follow His heart. The relationship squashes our fear of punishment. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. We cannot have a hypocritical approach to the relationship; it must be pure Part 2: THE CREATION Our selfishness gets in the way of relationship. Because for most of our life we have assumed charge of our life. We have constructed a life that has built strongholds against God. These strongholds become habits and lifestyle. Romans 1:21-25 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Paul lays out this very concept in Romans. When we desire to sin despite knowing that God exists and that he has put boundaries in place to direct us back to him, we “exchange” God for things of this world. Because of this free will choice, God gives us over to these desires. Does that mean God doesn’t care? No, it means that God wants us to experience the futility of life without him. When we come to the conclusion that life (or the things we chase in life) don’t bring us to lasting peace, then we have another choice to follow God. This is an act of mercy by God. He gives us this opportunity so we can turn back to Him willingly, having “come to our senses.” Romans 1:28-32 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and de pravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. If we allow our selfishness (sin) to rule our life long enough, we become deaf to God’s voice. God will allow us to live this life util it is time to come back, an intervention, that brings us back into a clear understanding that we have made a wrong choice in our life. But just as the was free will to go the wrong way, there is also free will to return. Luke 15:13-16 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. This is the story of the Lost (Prodigal) son. It is the same story that Paul is relaying, but in a more concise and easily to understand package. In it, a son takes his inheritance early and runs away from home, spending it on a lavish lifestyle. But when the money runs out a famine hits, creates a real problem for him. He, a Jewish man, must take a job feeding pigs. He gets to such a low point that he is wishing for the food that the pigs eat. The young man in this story turns away from he father and indulges in life. The father allows him to go. The life of freedom he imagined has no future. In fact, it bankrupts him. This is one way God shows mercy to us: by showing us the boundaries are there for our good, but letting us live in our indignity, and giving us a choice to return. Luke 15:17-19 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ He returns home. He makes the choice for God. But not only that, there is repentance in this passage. He doesn’t want to return to his father as a son but as a servant. He has learned his lesson. This is the choice we are afforded through God’s mercy, to come back humbly, ready to return to relationship. Luke 15:20 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. You’ll note that the father is not angry. Instead, he is delighted that his son returns to him. In the following verses, the father fits the son with a ring and sandals and robe and prepares a feast, announcing that “he was once lost but now is found.” The father (God) doesn’t accept his son with disdain but with love and acceptance. The son (us) is treated with a celebration. God wants us back, despite the detour we took with our free will choices. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Ephesians 4:20-24 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. This is the reality when we choose Christ, when we come back through repentance and humility. We are forgiven, we are celebrated and made new. There is a line drawn between our old life and new. The old life is history. The new life is how we can live into the present and future. It is time to change your life, your priorities, your goals. It is time to make submission a goal. Why is it so difficult to follow God? The strongholds you constructed most of your life are large; it takes time, prayer and effort to weaken the foundations. If you are struggling, then you are fighting. Understanding the Creator and the Creation is a spiritual (eternal) way to explain our life. Part 3: The Purpose We are built in 3 general ways: Social creature (Genesis 2:18-25) We are given work to do (Genesis 2:15) We are to have fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8) If we are to remove any one of these, the creation can’t stand. If we take the social aspect out of life, then we suffer, even if we have work to do and have fellowship with God. If we don’t have work, then we generally break down, because we need something passionate to forge forward with. If we have social and work but no fellowship with God, life seems empty. We are built with these three components because this is how we live a fulfilled life in Christ. This is how God built us. Genesis 1:26 says this: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” We were made in God’s image. This means we were made with God’s attributes, buried deep down in our soul, to reflect what God cares about. Our selfish nature tries to eradicate that over time. It amounts to the Flesh vs. Spirit struggle, which we will talk more about in part 2. You see, When we make a practice of not standing up for God, When we make a practice of not stepping into the opportunities God give us when we make practice of not standing up to sin, we repeat the sin of Adam, that very sin that got he and Eve into trouble at the beginning: it is the choice of being selfish and selecting something other than God to fulfill us. Psalm 139:13-15 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. David says it best: we were fearfully and wonderfully made, by God for purpose. That purpose is His, but it is also the thing we’ve been looking for, the thing we can only find through relationship. You are not a mistake. God has a plan for you. Our purpose is to get closer to God. Questions: 1. Are you in relationship with God? 2. If so, what does the relationship look like? 3. Do you realize, as a new creation, you can put away your past and move toward a new beginning? 4. Are you willing to submit everything to God? Built For Others In order to understand how we are built for others, we first must revisit God’s character to see who we are built by. God’s Character: He is Merciful He is Love and He is a Fair Judge The first two items may be easy to attribute to God, but the third is a place we struggle. Is God a judge, and more to the point, a fair judge? What is a fair judge? A fair judge is one who rules in a non-partisan way and administers judgment based on impartiality. If you go before a human judge, the judge’s job is to use the law as a basis for his/her judgment. So, if you steal a bottle of shampoo and are caught, the judge is going to look at the law broken, your contrite or oppositional behavior, and render a verdict based on all of the information given. The judgment rendered will be in alignment with the crime committed. A fair judge rules based on the boundary that was crossed and the contriteness of the lawbreaker. A lawbreaker who is genuinely sorry may be judged with some mercy, but an impartial judge also realizes that a penalty must be paid for the law broken. This is because a judge rules with the law in mind. If you are a parent, you know this law well. You set boundaries for your children and when they test those boundaries, you, as a fair judge, is going to show them why it is wrong to cross the boundary. It isn’t because you want to be mean to your child, it is because you want your child to understand that the boundary in place is there for their well-being. The boundary to teach them a lesson. It is there to help them avoid getting into further trouble. Parents and children are great metaphors of how God helps us to understand his love. Because of God’s mercy and love, he created us for communion with him. Sin breaks that communion. When we cross a boundary God has set for us, it is our rebellion against God’s laws. We struggle with this our entire life. We sometimes view God as mean or unloving because of these boundaries, but we have to understand that it isn’t He who does wrong, but us. We forget that those boundaries are there to help us see God in a brighter light. This struggle is a life-long struggle. It could he a habit or addiction, a mindset or a prejudice. It could be the way you divide people or judge people or the way you look at life in a jaded way. We look at God’s laws and boundaries and want to push through them. This is the creation struggling against the creator. When God judges, we can look at it as though we don’t deserve it, but God only judges after He has given us a long rope. If you consider many of the stories in scripture of the long rope that God gives (Those created before Noah, Egypt, Canaan, Israel multiple times, Judah), you’ll see that He indeed gives nations, and even people (like David) long stretches of time, and multiple chances to understand the loving relationship He wants us to partake in. When it is time for judgment, it is because we have turned our back on God for an extended period of time. We’ve allowed rebellion into our hearts. Understanding the relationship Our relationship is personal Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. We don’t choose God; He chooses us. The relationship that He offers is a gift from God that we can either accept or deny. Of course, there are eternal implications for either choice. Ephesians 1:7 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace This relationship, which God has invited us into, has the ability to redeem us. Our belief in Christ, our repentance through Him and our turn from sin marks our adoption into an eternity that is defined by love and intimacy with Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Once our life on this earth ends, we will be headed for an eternity. We are all to stand before God based on where we put our faith. If we put our faith in Christ, then we will deal with God’s mercy. If we choose to have faith in ourselves or in the world, then we will deal with God’s wrath. Our relationship is public John 3:3 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” The beginning of our public relationship is to understand that once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, it is a new beginning. We become a New Creation, and what that means is that there is an intervention in your sinful life (Christ) and from that intervention there is a change of your heart (rebirth). In that change there is repentance (a change of mind that result sin a change of action). This is shown in your heart and showed outwardly in your public life. Rebirth (The New Creation) is essential for a true, or authentic, conversion. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! What Paul says here is profound. It is that dividing line between the old and new life. It is important to understand that all of that sin and corruption of the old life is gone, now covered in righteousness through Christ, but it doesn’t mean that the consequences, the broken relationships, the human fingerprint of your life is gone. That is part of the past we struggle with, and it is one of the reasons we struggle with the idea of being Christian and still having the impulse to sin. Because those strongholds of the former life are still there, despite the heart changing. When the basis for our life changes from selfishness to love, our motives change moving forward. C.S. Lewis said this: “If conversion makes no improvements in a man’s outward actions, then I think his ‘conversion’ was largely imaginary.” There is wisdom in this quote. If we accept Christ and there is no visible change, then we have to wonder if the act of accepting Christ was real, because the relationship, by definition, changes the heart. Our private relationship leads to public action Colossians 4:5-6 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. When we share with others, it should always be in a gracious fashion. Mark 16:15 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Sharing should be an extension of the truth. If we understand the truth of Christ, then it is valuable to pepper our conversations with that truth. John 15:16 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. Sharing should be courageous. If we remind ourselves that God chose us for purpose (bearing fruit), then it should translate into how we share with others. Philippians 2:12-13 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. When sharing, we should always be aware of its eternal implications. We have a duty to help others see the light, whether it be through our words, actions or example. Jesus’ Command Matthew 22:37-40 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” God must be the center of our life. It is where our time, energy and focus must be. We are in a battle of selfishness vs. selflessness. All of the teachings of the Old Testament, as well as all of the prophets, lead to these two commands, which Christ tells us incorporate all of the commands. What that means is that if you are loving God as best you can (with all of your energy) and loving others as best you can, then you probably aren’t breaking commandments (stealing, lying, etc.). You are probably treating others properly and contributing to your foundational relationship. It isn’t about being perfect, but about addressing the priorities in our life. Anything, good or bad, has the ability to steal focus of the relationship away from us. That is why we must return to that focus with passion. James 1:27 says it a different way: 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. What is James saying? Religion, as he puts it, is only recognized by God as valid in two ways: One, to take care of the people around you. Widows and orphans, in James’ time, were the most maligned people in that society. A widow could not remarry, therefore was essentially extradited by society both financially and culturally. An orphan had no inheritance to collect, no bloodline to continue. They were outcasts. Secondly, he says to stay unpolluted by the world. How does one do that? First, you attach yourself to the truth. You learn who God is. You study the scripture. You deepen relationship with God. It is really the same message as Christ’s. The Human Problem When it comes down to it, many of us don’t want to help people. Sure, it sounds lofty and something we’d like to do, but when it comes down to it, we just choose not to. Why? It is because we’ve had a mindset about others for most of our life and have never chose to explore it. When you were young, you discovered you could squirm out of responsibility. It began with faking a sickness so you could stay home from school, or lying to your parents or teachers about something. The problem was, you got away with it. When you realized this could work for a number of situations, it became clear that you could create not only a habit of this, but a lifestyle. Why? Because it was easier to avoid doing something than to actually do it. You avoided vulnerability. You avoided discomfort. You simply bowed out. But this hurt you spiritually. It weakened you. How? Because God providentially put people, circumstances and even trials into your life for the purpose of growing you and you refused the lesson! Your training was stunted by your own inability to listen to God. So now, when opportunities, or sin, come along, do you have the ability to rise to the occasion? Can you fight the sin? This type of thinking is a holdover from the strongholds we built in the former life. Those stronghold against God were built in defiance of accountability. Denying the opportunities to stand up was just another way we opposed God. And here’s the kicker: we are all guilty of knowing God and abandoning Him. Romans 1 tells us that everyone knows God on some level. If that is the case, what are the underlying reasons we fight against Him? Romans 7:7 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” When we are introduced to God’s law, we are introduced to boundaries that God sets for us. So the first reason we resist is because the boundaries, drawn by God, are there to show us where the line is to rebellion. Romans 7:8-12 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. But the law doesn’t just reveal God’s boundaries; it also reveals our weakness. Let’s break it down. 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. The law reveals our rebellious heart. “Don’t do that!” often causes opposition. Have you ever been told that you can’t do something and that thing, whatever it may be, causes you to want to do it even more? Think of a speed limit sign. How often do we look at it and scoff. Or maybe it’s a different law. Now extrapolate that to God’s law. This is rebellion, built into us and yet independent of us, like a snake that weaves around and through us. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. It was easier to live without the law. It was easier to have a life based just upon our selfish desires. But it isn’t sustainable. When we learn about the boundaries, it inspires sin in us. It shows us our guilt. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Sin tricks us into thinking it is more valuable than purity. Sin promises: Satisfaction Excuse Escape from Punishment But none of these things are true. Romans 7:13-20 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. The law isn’t the problem; we are the problem. God’s boundaries reveal our sinful nature. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. The law cannot save an unspiritual man. The law doesn’t have the ability to do so. Again, if we think of the law like that speed limit sign, does the sign have the ability to give you a ticket or slow down your speed? It is there as a marker to the boundary of the law. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. We may have the desire to do what’s right, and understand intellectually what is right, but we still don’t have the power in ourself to do it. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. We act against the NEW MAN in Jesus Christ. This holdover from the old life, this corrupted way of thinking, actively works against our New Creation status. It isn’t part of our sinful nature but more a part of our habitual thought process. We con ourself into thinking that we don’t have the ability to rise above sin so we engage in a fight that we know all too well. The fight of what the spirit wants (the New Creation) and what the flesh wants (sin nature/old corrupt thinking). “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good.” - C.S. Lewis Romans 7:21-24 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. In this great fight of spirit vs. flesh, who is the real person? Is it the person who yearns after God or the one who sins? The real person is the New Creation, the person who delights in God’s law. What Paul is beginning to do is to articulate the concept of sin being a separate entity. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! When we couple real power with the desire and intellect, we finally have a source to power our faith. It is about understanding that we can’t do it on our own. We need the power of Jesus to overcome. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. There is no resolution here. Even though Paul has Christ, he still has the law of sin working in him. This is the same for each of us. We all fight this battle and will continue in battle for the rest of our life. That is why it is important to draw on Christ’s power continually. ROMANS 8:1-5 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. We are saved by faith in Jesus, saved from sin (flesh) 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. The law (boundaries) can’t save us; but faith in Christ can. The NEW MAN does not live by the flesh (sin), but by the spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The NEW MAN focuses on the spirit (eternal). The Solution Our fight is the same fight that goes on in each life Everyone is bound by God’s law Everyone has a flesh vs. spirit fight Everyone sins and falls short This is the baseline we must use when dealing with people Four questions: Do you desire to help others? If so, how are you helping others? Do you realize, as a new creation, you can view others through a lens of equality rather than division? Are you willing to view people differently? Built For Mission In the first two installments of this series, we studied a number of important concepts that will help us in the third part, when we discuss the specific mission God has built us for. The New Man- Built for God In this first part, we first studied God’s character and discovery that He is Merciful, He is Love and also a fair judge. The fair judge part is important because if God is not fair and impartial in His dealings with us, then can He really administer mercy properly? Through His fairness, then He can offer grace and mercy built on the idea that our choice, either for or against Him, will be judged fairly. Second, we learned that God has built us for communion with Him. In this part of our design, God has also placed boundaries for us to understand His love. We struggle agains these boundaries our entire life. Why? Because we view the boundaries as detriments to our freedom rather than road signs of warning. Third, we learned that this struggle is natural. We counter against God’s love and boundaries with selfishness. We struggle against past and current issues. It is the struggle of the creation vs. the creator. The New Man- Built for Others In the second part of the study, we began to learn about how we are built for others. To understand this, we first must understand the relationship. This relationship is a gift from God. We didn’t choose God, but He chose us for relationship. We are redeemed through this relationship and accountable for the choices we make within or without the relationship. If we are truly in relationship, then the relationship changes us. This is the concept of rebirth, or becoming the New Creation. If we become a New Creation, then we have a new set of motivations, priorities and goals that are all rooted in the relationship. This should show us measurable change in our life that others are able to see. This is evidence of the spirit working inside us. Then why is it that we fight against the relationship? Because our life, up to the point of rebirth, is one that was marked in rebellion to God. In this part of our life we built up strongholds against accountability to God. Those strongholds are hard to break down over time. It’s the reason we still sin. It’s the reason we have a hard time reconciling a new life with the shame of the old one. It takes a lifetime to fight. The law (complying with the boundaries) cannot save us. Our relationship with Christ does. And that is the difference between adhering to the law (following rules) and following Christ (relationship). Following rules can change our actions, but it most likely doesn’t change the heart. A relationship with Christ gets at the fundamental life change we as Christians needs to move into the life that God has desired us to be in. The New Man -Built for Mission How has God built us? He built us in thee general ways: He built us for fellowship with God: A key component in our design is to understand that God built to desire relationship with Him. (Genesis 3:8) He built us as a social creature: We are meant to be in the world with others. It is why relationships with other people is crucial to our development (Genesis 2:18-25) He built us to work: Human beings have a desire to forge forward and work at tasks and goals that are beneficial to us (Genesis 2:15) From the beginning of time, God desired to have communion with us (relationship with God), to have social interactions (relationships with others), and to work at something important (purpose). This design is not a mistake and they all must work together, as a machine does, in order for the body and spirit to work properly. In essence, this is the owner’s manual for our human design. If you remove anything from the equation, the person tends to break down in some regard. If you have fellowship with God and social components in your life but no work, you tend not to do so well. What if you have fellowship with God and a purpose but no social interactivity? Again, the machine breaks down. Or perhaps, what if you are a social creature with lots of work to do but no fellowship with God? Well, as many of us have found over time, we fall into emptiness. Something is missing. Psalm 139:13-15 says this: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. For you created my inmost being: God created the real person that exists in us. That means that a person, who yearns for God, is in us as the real person, the one built for fellowship you knit me together in my mother’s womb: God created us, with purpose, as a unique person. Sometimes we yearn to be like everyone else for a variety of reasons, but that denies the unique nature God built us for. Everything we have in our life has been given to us in order to point back to Him, to glorify Him in a unique way. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: God created us with both strengths and weaknesses. It is important to note that God has not built us with flaws, but weaknesses that work for our benefit if we are to look at them differently. your works are wonderful, I know that full well: God created us with an understanding of who He is. Everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not, has this built into their makeup. It is our moral barometer. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. God created us with an intentional hand. He created us with purpose for purpose. So who is the real person inside us? Is it our spirit nature, our sin nature, or both? Let’s find some answers in the Book of Romans: Romans 7:21-23 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. So as we’ve already learned, God built us intentionally, uniquely, and for purpose. But as Paul looks at the legacy of sin in his and our life, he finds that sin, although intwined in our life, is also a separate force that tries to dismantle our relationship with God. It is an outside force that impacts us and tries to get us off course. If we are sharks swimming through the ocean, then sin is like the remora fish, hanging onto us, sucking at our skin, a separate entity that clings to us. Paul addresses it as laws at work inside him: one that wants to follow God’s laws and delights in them, and the other seeking to make him a prisoner. Romans 7:24-25 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. There is only one way to be rescued from this rebellion: it is through Christ. Christ alone gives us the strength to overcome the sin that effects us. We do not have the power to defeat sin on our own. Faith in Christ is how we become a Child of God. Romans 8:9-17 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. What is a child of God? It may be something we struggle with occasionally. Perhaps we struggle with the concept of being saved. How do we really know we are saved? We know our salvation standing by our repentance, desire and motive to serve God. Repentance isn’t only saying we’re sorry, but moving on in our life to make substantial changes. It is a change of mind that results in a change of actions. Our desire for relationship is perhaps the deepest indicator of our salvation. Do we desire God? Do we desire to know Him? If the desire isn’t there, then do we really want the life-saving relationship He offers? Our motivation, or the reason we do things, is also an extremely important indicator. If we have been reborn, then our motives aren’t self-serving, but about serving others. If we look at these three items and where we stand on them, they are good barometers of whether we want to be in relationship, if we have returned to God in humility and the reasons we do things are based from the relationship. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. An important part of understanding God’s mercy is to understand that we are covered in righteousness, even though we sin. This doesn’t mean we should sin, it’s okay to sin or our sin doesn’t matter. Sin is an extremely important element in our life to both address and repel. But the righteousness that covers us is because we have accepted Christ and the relationship is a solid foundation in our life. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Another good indicator of our salvation is to understand where our desires are. Are they for God or the world? If we live for sin (or the world), then the spirit does not live in us. Does this mean that when we occasional slip up or desire something in the world we are not saved. No, it doesn’t mean that. If our life is built around the pursuits of the world (money, power, fame, etc.), or around a sinful lifestyle, then that is evidence that the spirit of God does not dwell in us. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Our purpose is to be led by the spirit. If we are led by the spirit, this indicates that we have the spirit in us. We are covered by the righteousness of God. This verifies our adoption into the family of God, as a child of God. 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Our relationship verifies that we are a child of God. If we do not have the relationship, then we don’t have the spirit. If we don’t deepen the relationship, we will never understand our purpose God created us as a unique person. Each of us are built with talents Each of us are built with passions Talents and passions often result in goals These goals often take us to secular ambitions God built us with a unique set of talents and passions, but what happens in many livesis that we use these talents and passions to build a life without God. Did we consult God at all when we were building our life? Did we use our talents to build our life selfishly? These are good questions to ponder, because our ambitions often work against the purpose God has for us. If we reconnect with the spirit, then we may find this is the case. We have used our talents and passions selfishly. God created us with purpose for His purpose. If we are a Child of God, then finding the purpose God built us for is important. God equipped us with a toolbox God gives each one of us a toolbox to work with in this life. In this toolbox we have a special set of tools to use in a unique way The elements of the toolbox are: Talents: These are temporal items you excel at. These are special things you were born with that, with practice, you can become better at. It could be singing, woodworking, public speaking. These can be transferred into a career or hobby. Passions: These could be an extension of hobbies or something completely different. A passion is something that stirs the depth of your soul. It is something unique to your design. It could be a deep desire to help the environment, human rights, or developing people in a certain way. Ambition: God designed you with a torqued up ambitious nature, a midlevel one or a low ambition. This can be your energy level, but also is the driving force you have in making your goals come to life. Gifts: Spiritual gifts come to you after you have accepted Christ and are an authentic follower. These are spiritual items given to you to be used for the common good. They are also evidences of the spirit working in you. They are to be used for God’s work. Weaknesses: God has also given you a set of weaknesses to deal with in your life. Can weaknesses, though become strengths? We’ll investigate that in a moment. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 1Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Christians must be led by the spirit. If we are to determine the spiritual gifts we have upon acceptance into God’s family, then we first must be established if our life is about following God’s lead through the relationship. If we aren’t there, then we do not have the spirit working in us. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Different gifts and different service all come from the same source. This is important to understand, because sometimes within the church body there is a temptation to compare, contrast or wonder why certain people have certain gifts and others do not. God distributes the gifts. They are all distributed for the edification of the church. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. Gifts are different for each person. This again plays into the uniqueness of each one of us. We all have a part to play for God’s purpose. We may lament that we don’t have miraculous powers or prophecy. That’s okay. God built you in a special way, like a finely-tuned sports car. That’s a certain type of gas, oil and care that goes into each car to make it run at maximum efficiency and power. In our life, we’ve all been looking for that ideal life of peace and purpose. Might I suggest that if we finally begin to look at the owner’s manual (how you were uniquely built), start addressing this uniqueness as a strength rather than a weakness, that you may just find the peace and purpose you’ve been chasing after? 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. God distributes the gifts as He desires, for his purpose, for us to connect to, accept and implement. This is how we find purpose in our life: to hear God, to follow, and to be led by Him into a new life. Weakness 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 gives us some important information as to why weakness is part of our toolbox: 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. First, humility is important to God. Pride is always the foundation of sin, and humility is the exact opposite of pride. Paul puts it int the context of boasting. He won’t boast because that’s a form of pride. But what does this have to do with weakness? Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Weakness keeps us from pride. Weakness helps us to connect with God. We generally don’t connect to God with our strength, because usually when we are in our strength, we can fall into the pitfall of pride. When we understand we are weak, we need to find something to depend on. Since God build us for fellowship (dependence), then we can see our weakness as a strength, because it gets us closer to God. Weakness helps us to understand where true power comes from. Centering ourselves as weak helps to connect us to God and others. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Weakness can actually be a strength if we are willing to accept ourself as weak.If we acknowledge our need for dependency, it helps us to find and connect to God firmer. Colossians 1:16 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. We were created for Him Genesis 1:27 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We were created in His likeness John 15:14-15 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. We were created for fellowship with Him We have been fighting a war with God since the beginning. But God has been faithful and wants us back in relationship with Him. He’s asking us to put away the distractions and follow so we are led by His spirit. He’s also asking us to step into the life He has been waiting for us to live. So what are we supposed to do? Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Look at how God has taken care of you Ephesians 2:10 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 2. Take stock in how God has groomed you for something more 1 Peter 4:10-11 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 3. Look at your talents and gifts James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you 4. Pray for wisdom Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 5. When God leads, follow How has God specifically gifted you? Below are the spiritual gifts noted in scripture to help you to zero in on how you are uniquely built. Romans 12 exhortation (Encouragement) giving leadership mercy prophecy service teaching 1 Corinthians 12 administration apostle discernment faith healing helps (support to ministry) knowledge miracles prophecy teaching tongues tongues interpretation wisdom Ephesians 4 apostle evangelism pastor prophecy teaching Misc. Passages celibacy hospitality martyrdom missionary voluntary poverty Copyright 2024